Clearlake City Zoning Code
18-16 ADULT
ENTERTAINMENT AE COMBINING ZONING DISTRICT
18-16.010 Purpose and Intent.
The purpose and intent of this article is to regulate adult businesses which, unless closely regulated, tend to have serious secondary effects on the community, including, but not limited to, the following: depreciation of property values; increase in vacancies in residential and commercial areas in the vicinity of adult businesses; interference with residential property owner’s enjoyment of their properties when such properties are located in the vicinity of adult businesses, as a result of increases in crime, litter, noise and vandalism; higher crime rates in the vicinity of adult businesses; and blight conditions such as inadequate maintenance of commercial premises and parking lots, which thereby have a deleterious effect upon adjacent areas. Special regulation of these businesses is necessary to prevent these adverse effects and the blighting or degradation of the neighborhoods in the vicinity of adult businesses.
It is neither the intent nor the effect of these regulations to impose limitations or restrictions on the content of any communicative material. Similarly, it is neither the intent nor the effect of these regulations to restrict or deny access by adults to communicative materials or to deny access by the distributors or exhibitors of adult business to their intended lawful market.
Nothing in these regulations is intended to authorize, legalize or permit the establishment, operation or maintenance of any business, building or use which violates any City ordinance or any statute of the State of California regarding public nuisances, unlawful or indecent exposure, sexual conduct, lewdness, obscene or harmful matter or the exhibition or public display thereof. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))
18-16.020 Definitions.
For the purposes of this article the following terms shall be defined as follows:
ADULT ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS shall mean those businesses as defined as follows:
1. ADULT BOOKSTORE, ADULT NOVELTY STORE OR ADULT VIDEO STORE is an establishment with more than twenty-five (25%) percent of: (a) its floor area devoted to; or (b) stock-in-trade consisting of; or (c) gross revenues derived from and offering for sale for any form of consideration, any one (1) or more of the following:
(a) Books, magazines, periodicals or other printed matter, photographs, drawings, motion pictures, slides, films, tapes, video cassettes, records or other visual or audio representations which are characterized by an emphasis upon the depiction or description of “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas.”
(b) Instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed to be used in connection with “specified sexual activities”; or
(c) Goods which are replicas of or which simulate “specified anatomical areas,” or goods which are designed to be placed on or in “specified anatomical areas” or to be used in conjunction with “specified sexual activities.”
2. ADULT LIVE ENTERTAINMENT THEATER means any place, building, enclosure or structure, partially or entirely used for “live adult entertainment” performances or presentations characterized by an emphasis on depicting, exposing, displaying, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” for observation by patrons or customers therein.
3. LIVE ADULT ENTERTAINMENT means any physical human body activity, whether performed or engaged in alone or with other persons, including but not limited to singing, walking, speaking, dancing, acting, posing, simulating, wrestling or pantomiming, in which the performer or performers expose to public view without opaque covering “specified anatomical areas” for entertainment value for any form of consideration.
4. ADULT MOTION PICTURE OR VIDEO ARCADE means any business wherein coin, paper, note or token operated or electronically, electrically or mechanically controlled still or motion picture machines, projectors or other image-producing devices are maintained to show images to four (4) or fewer persons per machine, at any one (1) time and where the predominant character or theme of the images so displayed is distinguished or characterized by its emphasis on matter depicting or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas”.
5. ADULT MOTION PICTURE THEATER means any business, other than a hotel or motel which provides closed circuit viewing to each individual room as a secondary service to its motel customers, with the capacity for five (5) or more persons where, for any form of consideration, films, motion pictures, video cassettes, slides or similar photographic reproductions in which the predominant character and theme is distinguished or characterized by its emphasis on matter depicting or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” as defined in this section. This includes, without limitation, showing any such slides, motion pictures or videos by means of any video tape system which has a display, viewer, screen or a television set.
6. Exceptions. An “adult entertainment business” shall not include:
(a) Bona fide medical establishments operated by properly licensed and registered medical and psychological personnel with appropriate medical or professional credentials for the treatment of patients.
(b) Persons depicting “specified anatomical areas” in a modeling class operated:
(1) By a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly by public revenue;
(2) By a private college or university which maintains and operates educational programs in which credits are transferable to a college, junior college or university supported entirely or partly by public revenue; or
(3) In a structure operated either as a profit or not-for-profit facility:
(A) Which has no sign visible from the exterior of the structure and no other advertising that indicates a nude person is available for viewing; and
(B) Where in order to participate in a class a student must enroll at least three (3) days in advance of the class.
(C) The practice of massage in compliance with Section 51030 et seq. of the California Government Code.
ESTABLISH shall mean and include any of the following:
1. The opening or commencement of any adult entertainment business as defined in this section; or
2. The conversion of an existing business, whether or not an adult entertainment business, to any adult entertainment business as defined in this section; or
3. The relocation of any adult entertainment business; or
4. The addition of any of the “adult entertainment businesses” defined herein to any other existing adult entertainment business.
OPERATE shall mean to own, lease (as lessor or lessee), rent (as landlord or tenant or as agent for the purpose of representing a principal in the management, rental or operation of the property of such principal), manage, conduct, direct or be employed in an adult entertainment business.
OPERATOR shall mean and include the owner, custodian, manager or person in charge of any adult entertainment business.
PARCEL OF LAND means any quantity of land capable of being described with such definiteness that its location and boundaries may be established, which is designated by its owner or developer as land to be used or developed as a unit or which has been used or developed as a unit.
PERSON shall mean an individual, proprietorship, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.
RELIGIOUS INSTITUTION shall mean any church, synagogue, mosque, temple or building which is used primarily for religious worship, religious education incidental thereto and related religious activities.
RESIDENTIAL ZONE shall mean property which has a zoning designation of RR, LDR, MDR, HDR or such other residential zones as may be created by ordinance, or a mobile home park as defined in this Code.
SCHOOL shall mean any public or private educational facility primarily attended by minors, including, but not limited to, large family day care homes, nursery schools, preschools, kindergartens, elementary schools, primary schools, intermediate schools, junior high schools, middle schools, high schools, secondary schools, continuation schools and special education schools, and includes school grounds.
SENSITIVE USES shall include religious institutions, residential zones and schools.
SPECIFIED ANATOMICAL AREAS shall include the following:
1. Less than completely and opaquely covered human genitals, pubic region, buttock, anus, and/or the female breast below a point immediately above the top of the areola; and
2. Human male genitals in a discernibly turgid state, even if completely and opaquely covered.
SPECIFIED SEXUAL ACTIVITIES shall include the following:
1. Actual or simulated sexual intercourse, oral copulation and intercourse, oral-anal copulation, bestiality, direct physical stimulation of unclothed genitals, flagellation or torture in the context of sexual relationship or the use of excretory functions in the context of a sexual relationship and any of the following sexually oriented acts or conduct: anilingus, buggery, coprophagy, coprophilia, cunnilingus, fellation, necrophilia, pederasty, pedophilia, piquerism, sapphism, zooerasty; or
2. Clearly depicted human genitals in a state of sexual stimulation, arousal or tumescence; or
3. Human or animal masturbation, sodomy, oral copulation, coitus, ejaculation; or
4. Fondling or touching of nude human genitals, pubic region, buttocks or female breast; or
5. Masochism, erotic or sexually oriented torture, beating or the infliction of pain; or
6. Erotic or lewd touching, lewd fondling or other lewd contact with an animal by a human being; or
7. Human excretion, urination, menstruation, vaginal or anal irrigations. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))
18-16.030 Location of Adult Entertainment Businesses.
a. No person shall operate or establish an “adult entertainment business,” as defined in this Code, in any area of the City, except as noted in subsection (b) of this section.
b. No building permit or zoning clearance, business license or other permit or entitlement for business use shall be legally valid unless it is operated within the AE, Adult Entertainment Combining Zone.
c. Any adult entertainment business proposed to be operated or established in the AE, Adult Entertainment Combining Zone shall be subject to the following restrictions:
1. The establishment or operation of an adult entertainment business shall be subject to the locational criteria setting forth minimum distances from the sensitive uses and zones as follows:
(a) Seven hundred (700') feet from any parcel of land which is located in a residential zone.
(b) Seven hundred (700') feet from any parcel of land upon which a religious institution or school is located.
(c) Adult entertainment businesses shall not be located closer than seven hundred (700') feet from each other.
2. For the purpose of this chapter, all distances shall be measured in a straight line, without regard for intervening structures, using the closest property lines of the parcels of the land involved. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))
18-16.040 Design and Performance Standards.
The establishment or operation of an adult entertainment business shall comply with the applicable fees and site development standards, including, but not limited to, parking and design review and the requirements of the Uniform Codes adopted pursuant to Chapter IX. An adult entertainment business shall comply with the City’s applicable business tax requirements. In addition, adult entertainment businesses shall comply with the following design and performance standards:
a. Signs, advertisements, displays or other promotional materials depicting or describing “specified anatomical areas” or “specified sexual activities” or displaying instruments, devices or paraphernalia which are designed for use in connection with “specified sexual activities” shall not be shown or exhibited so as to be discernible by the public beyond the walls of the building or portion thereof in which the adult entertainment business is conducted.
b. Each adult entertainment business shall have a business entrance separate from any other nonadult business located in the same building.
c. All building openings, entries and windows for an adult entertainment business shall be located, covered or screened in such a manner as to prevent a view into the interior of an adult entertainment business from any area open to the general public.
d. No adult entertainment business shall be operated in any manner that permits the observation by the public of any material or activity depicting, describing or relating to “specified sexual activities” or “specified anatomical areas” from any public way or from any location beyond the walls of the building or portion thereof in which the adult entertainment business is conducted.
e. The building entrance to the adult entertainment business shall be clearly and legibly posted with a notice indicating that minors are precluded from entering the premises.
f. No loudspeakers or sound equipment shall be used by adult entertainment businesses for amplification of sound to a level discernible by the public beyond the walls of the building or portion thereof in which the adult entertainment business is conducted.
g. Each adult entertainment business shall be provided with a manager’s station which shall be used for the purpose of supervising activities within the business. A manager shall be on the premises during all times that the adult entertainment business is open to the public.
h. The interior of the adult entertainment business shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view from a manager’s station of every area of the adult entertainment business to which any patron is permitted access for any purpose, excluding restrooms. If the adult entertainment business has two (2) or more manager’s stations designated, then the interior of the adult entertainment business shall be configured in such a manner that there is an unobstructed view of each area of the adult entertainment business to which any patron is permitted access for any adult purpose, excluding restrooms, from at least one (1) of the manager’s stations. The view required in this subsection must be by direct line of sight from the manager’s station.
i. No individual viewing area may be occupied by more than one (1) person at any one (1) time. “Individual viewing area” shall mean a viewing area designed for occupancy by one (1) person. Individual viewing areas of the adult entertainment business shall be operated and maintained without any hole or other opening or means of direct communication or visual or physical access between the interior space of two (2) or more individual viewing areas.
j. Off-street parking shall be provided for the adult entertainment business as specified in accordance with the parking provisions of Section 18-20.090.
k. An off-site security program shall be prepared and implemented including the following items:
1. All off-street parking areas and building entries serving the adult entertainment business shall be illuminated during all hours of operation with a lighting system which provides a minimum maintained horizontal illumination of one (1) footcandle (ten (10) lux) (one (1) candlepower) of light on the parking surface and/or walkway.
2. All interior portions of the adult entertainment business, except those areas devoted to mini-motion or motion pictures, shall be illuminated during all hours of operation with lighting system which provides a minimum maintained horizontal illumination of not less than two (2) footcandles (twenty (20) lux) (two (2) candlepower) of light on the floor surface. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))
18-16.050 Severance Clause.
If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph or provision of this article or the application thereof to any person, property or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the article and the application of such to other persons, properties or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))
18-16.060 Violations.
It shall be unlawful to establish or operate an adult entertainment business in violation of this article. Any person who violates any provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. Nothing in this article shall be deemed or constituted to prevent the City from commencing any civil proceeding otherwise authorized by law for the declaration or abatement of a public nuisance. (Ord. #271-2025, S2 (Exh. A))